At Gilmore Park United, we feel privileged to be a part of your plans for a service of memorial and celebration of the life of your loved one. Be assured of our deepest sympathy to you and all who grieve this loss. Our congregation is pleased to offer service to you in the way of planning a memorial, arranging refreshments, and providing counseling for grief and loss (if desired).

We consider a funeral or memorial service to be first and foremost a ministry that proceeds from Jesus Christ, our hope and our salvation. The primary purpose of a Christian church service is therefore to worship God, and secondly to celebrate the life of the deceased. It is a time to bring a word of comfort and inspiration to all who are grieving, and to bring a sense of closure to a relationship which has now ended.

The service will follow the format outlined in the United Church of Canada Book of Services, and will be conducted by the minister of this congregation. We do not “rent out space” for secular memorial services or those conducted by ministers outside this congregation.

The minister will plan the participation of others in the service with the next-of-kin. Family members or friends are welcome to share in a “time of remembrance” during the service (this is often known as a “eulogy”, but may take any form).

Family members may also wish to choose music for the service (so long as it is appropriate to a church), perhaps following the wishes of the deceased.

Our Minister of Music, Miri Lee, is available for most funerals.

Normally the minister will choose appropriate scripture, unless the deceased or next-of-kin has a preference for a particular reading. Please note that readings must be from the Christian Bible. Poetry or other readings may be shared during the “time of remembrance”, however.

Flowers are always appropriate at funerals. We have flower stands available. You may also have the ashes of the deceased present on the communion table, and/or a picture of them. Other memorabilia is also appropriate, however the Christian symbols of the cross, Christ candle, and Bible may not be removed from the communion table, nor moved from their positions.

The difference between the terms “funeral” and “memorial” has historically been that at a funeral, the casket is present. This is done less often in our culture, but is still entirely appropriate. Please note that you must provide a set of strong, healthy pall-bearers, as caskets must be brought up the front steps of our church.

A host or hostess will be provided for your service and/or reception. The host will be here for you to make you comfortable, answer your questions, and meet your needs before, during and after the service.

We have a state-of-the-art sound system at Gilmore Park complete with CD players, DVD, big-screen computer projection and infra-red sound apparatus for the hearing impaired. A qualified technician will monitor the system throughout the service. Unfortunately, we cannot allow others outside our own technicians to monitor our system.

Our hall is available at most times for refreshments following the service. Please see our rates document (PDF) for further details.